GOVT RELEASES SALARY FUNDS FOR 12 DELHI UNIV COLLEGES

NEWDELHI: Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has accused Delhi University of resorting to ‘dirty politics’ over the issue of non-formation of college governing bodies.

The deputy chief minister also said that the teachers were suffering due to non-formation of college governing bodies as they were not getting their salaries.

Sisodia, who is also Delhi’s education minister, has now ordered the release of funds to be used for disbursal of one month’s salary in 12 colleges funded by the government as an “interim relief”.

The government and DU are locked in a tussle for over the last 18 months on the issue of formation of college governing bodies. The government had in July stopped the funding for 28 colleges — fully and partially funded by it — as the governing bodies were not yet formed.

Recently, the colleges fully funded by the government had expressed their inability to give salaries to their staff for the month of October as their funds were over.

“Due to the malafide and illegal actions of the University of Delhi, it is the teachers and karamcharis who are suffering as they are not getting their salaries. The DUTA has requested for interim relief for the teachers. On their request, I am ordering the release of funds for one month’s salary for the colleges fully funded by GNCTD,” Sisodia said in a letter to the DU vice-chancellor Yogesh Tyagi.

Government officials said that they had sent a list of names for the governing bodies to the university after selecting it from a panel that DU had sent.

But in October the university withdrew the original panel and sent a reduced panel for selection of names.

Sisodia said the actions of the university were unacceptable and there was no basis for sending a reduced panel of names.

“We do not accept this withdrawal. The government of Delhi is making it clear that the list of governing bodies sent on August 25 is the final list,” he said

A top DU official said the letter will be placed in the university’s executive council meeting and a reply will be sent .

“However, the tone and tenor of the letter is not right. An education minister should not use such language for vice chancellor of a university,” an official said.